ABSTRACT
One of the qualities that many commentators stress as being important in undertaking research is that of objectivity. Ironically, however, it is not unusual for a researcher to be quite passionate about the area they have chosen to explore. Indeed it is their concern for it that is likely to have motivated the exploration in the first place. One factor that has to be considered is the notion that as a researcher you are coming from a specific ideological viewpoint and are undertaking research in order to explore a particular issue that is pertinent to your viewpoint. In other words, no research is ever going to be value-free, it will always be ideologically determined. A key problem here is that there is a history within academic studies that certain clearly ideological positions are objective, value-free, truthful and that other positions are quite the opposite. A good example of this is research from a feminist perspective. When feminist perspectives were first introduced into social science research they provoked many adverse and opposed reactions. And, of course, those commentators who were most opposed to feminist perspectives invariably wrote and spoke as if their quite clearly sexist, patriarchal positions were objective, honest and value-free.
